Car holding mechanism



Nov. 24, 1931. M SHUTT 1,333,309

GAR HOLDING MECHANISM Original Filed Deo. 5V, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet l NOV. 24, 1931. M SHUT-|- -1,833,309

CAR HOLDING MECHANISM original Filed Dec. 5, 1928 s sheets-Sheet 2 original Filed Decf 5, 192e 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 WM,MJM

Nov. 24, 1931. M. sHLJTTl l CAR HOLDING MEGHANISM original Filed De. .5, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet. 4

lL iLL v mi fm M. SHUTT CAR HOLDING MEGHANISM Nov. 24, 1931.

Original Filed Dec. S-Sheets-Sheet 5 R O T N E V m Fat-exited Nov. 24,1931

` UNTZED STATES PATENT- oFriekt-:fV`

MIL@ sHUTT, oF ALLIANCE, 01110, Assreivon fro THE ALLIANCETMACHINEcomparti,

'OF LLIANCE, (HIO,` A CORPORATION'OF OI-IIOA can HOLDING MECHANIsr/r Original application led'Deeeinberf, 1928, Serial Nc. 323,983; Divided and this application filed September 1e,ieasafseriaiup.393,382.Y j

My inventionrelates'to Vcarl holdingmechan'isms, arid more particularly to car clamp ing mechanisms for car dumpers. In my copending application, Serial No. 323,983, l

havedescribed and shovvna mechanism lforl transferring coal, ore and the like from' a car to a receiver, Without excessive breakage of the material being transferred; The present invention particularly relatesto car Clamping mechanisms suitable for use With car dumpers of thesamer general character. :In the handlingof carsfmoving onto a' cradle, it has heretoforebeen necessary to clamp the cars firmly against Vthe cradle be. forethe 'cars are rotated'about their longitu'dinal axes. Where the cars'are'clamped iirmlyvtoA vthe cradle before' rotative ino-ve-v ment of thecradle begins, considerable time is lost in placing the clamps after the car is at rest on" the cradle. I provide `means'for automatically clampn ing a car inthe cradle as the cradle rotates andautomatically release the car as the cradle returns to itsinitial position. This construction eliminates "the loss of time heretofore experienced for placing theclamps in position before rotation of the cradle takes place. The accompanying drawings Aillustrate the present preferred embodiment of the inven` tion, in Which 'Figure l is an in its initial position,

Figure 2 is a similarvievv ofthe car dumpend view of a car dumper er in an intermediate position,

fFigureB Ais a View showing 1n fulllines the position of the car dumperwvhen iii/position to discharge material into a receiverand showing in dottedr lines a portion of the car dumper in its initial position,

' Figure 4 is an edge vvievvof thedischarge spout,

Figure '5 is a longitudinal sectional plan.

view ofthe car dumper taken substantially along thesectionV line V-Vfof Figure l, and

Figure 6 is a' diagrammatic view show.- ing` the 'movement ofthe Adischarge spout duringga'dischargingoperation.4 f L Referring to the drawings, a cartcradle' 2 is supported .alongone side by brackets 4 engaging vpins 5 Which extend through'staof the cradle frame.

ticnary 'pillow blocksf.. LThe pillovv blocks i are supported byV a foundation 7 of struc-V tural' shapes and'supporting masonry' of any suitableform. The brackets 4 are preferably mounted near the endsy of the cradle. The sha-pe of the foundation 7 and the positions of the brackets 4 are such that4 the cradle can be rotated'through substantially `180O about an axis delined by the pins. Iltis to be un-V derstood that the number of brackets may be varied in accordance With the length and size of the cradle 2 as desired. While 'I have shown' the car cradle v2 of a length for liandling a single car, it is'to beunderstood that the cradle may be increased inlength to accommodate a plurality of cars.

drawings, althoughit is to be understood that Y the number may be varied as desired. V"Eachclamp 157 comprises atbracket lfslidably mounted in a guideway 17 forming apart Each bracket terminates in an outwardly projecting'head y18 that engagesand clamps the inner edge of .tli ;i"car l' *'85 A pulley 19 is mounted infeachlhead and yan outwardly extending clamping; arm 20"isj pivotaily secured thereto- 'Each a'r'mj20 ter#V minates in a. downwardlyextending clunping face 21 for engagingthe outervcar edge.

Spaced pulleys 22 and'24 aremounted near' theouterend of each-clamping arm 20. A

clamping cable 25is secured to an eye 26 on the innerfaceof the cradle. i eXtendsupWardly Within the'bracket 16, over th'etop of the pulleylg, outwardly along the arm 2Q and between the pulleys 22 andt 24; The `cable 25select-ively engages the .pulleys 22 and 24 during theclamping operation here'' inafter described. Each cable 25 extends-over- The cable25 counterweight 29 is attached to each cable 25.

. the uppersurtaceo; the pulley, 22 when the.

V m cradle is in the positions shown in Figures.;

Y During the rotation of the cradle 2 from the position shown in Figure 1 to the position shown in 1Figure 3, each cable 25 crosses the center line oi' the cooperating pulleys 19 and 27 to bring the cable into engagement with 2and3. Y, Y* I lVhen'in this position, each cable25 bea-rs against the cooperating pulley22 to force the associatedv clamp armv into engagement`V with the car rby reason of the counterweight 29,. VllVhen the cradle is in the position shown inFigure l, each cable engages its cooperatingpulley 24 for elevating the or-teiyl end of the'.clamp`arm 20. The `tension in cach Cable 25 `also tends 'to Ymove the associated "bracket 16 downwardly7 `in its guide 17.

, For positively lifting the severalV headslS out of engagement with the c arsrlO-'wlien the cradle 2 is injthe position sliownin Figure 1, each bracket 16 is providerl with a flange 30 extendingl through a slot in Vthe inner tace of the cradle.- VEach Harige is secured to a v able 3l which extends upwardly over a. puls l fm ley'32'lcarried by 'the frame 8 and downwardly exteriorly of the cradle to an eye 34 mountedou al lever 35. The lever 35 is pivotally connectedV toa vplate 36 mounted on thetoun- (lation 7.71 lVith this construction, the lever 35 isfurged in a counterclockwise direction about itspivotal support by the pressure exerted bythe bracket 16 and connected parts. The bracket 1611s kept in an elevated positionV by'reas'on'of the engagement of a roller 36 on the outer lend of the'leverwith av track 37 supportedby'aframe work 38 projeifting from, the'body Stof the. cradle. vWhen the cradle. isin the position shown in Figure l,

` the several tracks 37 engage the several rollers 36 and ydepress the levers 35. "L: lengths ofthe cablesSl are Xed, the pulleys As the 32 areturnedto raise theibrackets'l and thereby lree.l the 'clamping' heads 18 and clamping faces 21 fromthe cars .10.

\ As :the cradleturns from the position J shown 'inFigure' 1 to that shown in Figui-e2,

the levers `35 follow up the tracks 37 until they reacha substantially horizontal posi- Y tion. :During this movement, the distance between theeyes 34 and the pulleys 32 is short-jL s cned so4 that the brackets 16 move downwardly vinto engagement withthe cars. The downward movement vof Vthe/*brackets is partially induced by their own weight Aand partially by the tension in thecables 25. When the cradle' 'Yreaches the rposition. shown in Figure 3, the cables 31 'restl in` pads 39 disposed on top'otv thefoundation 7 In this vposition Vof the cradle the distances betweenthe `eyes 34 and thefpul'leys 32 is relatively short. so that the several clamps 15a-'re drawn into irm'engage'-1 vpersand the` like;

ment with the cars 1() by the cables 25.y When the cradle is returned to the position shown in Figure 1, the slack is lirst taken yup inthe cables 31Vand, as the cradle nears V'its initial dle, the contents ofthe car l() low out ofV the car against a wall 40 of the cradle. The

"wallllO closes'the side lof the cradle 2 adjacent to the brackets 4.V From the wall40the contents'of the car slide into VVa hopper 41 clos-j ing the'upper end of the cradle and movable therewith.v vThe movement of the vcontents of the car to 'the hopper 4l takes place slowly. A

and without anyviolent falling or tumbling movement such as'disintegrates the lumps of material. The hopperV rotates `lvaround the pins 5 Vuntila terminal spout 41a in the hopper `lis' broughteinto close engagement with the bottom .and sidewallsy of a receiver y4 2,"'illus trated as a. second car. It i's'to be understood thatreceivers of types other than cars may be utilized if desired, as the car is'illustr'ative of many types of `conveying apparatus,` such as transfer cars, scows, portablefhop- When-the Vspout 4laiis in position, gates 44 Closingthe spout .are opened andthe ,s out is withdrawn by la'slow movementfasi lustrated in'Figure', to deposit the material in the receiver by a gentle' flowing-movement. The action of the hopper is somewhatfanalogous to depositing the contents l of asack by opening;r thesack with an end` in engagement with a support for v the material to be emptied and slowly withdrawing'the sack from around its contents. This operation deposits the' material in the receiver without exposing the materialtQ any injurious-'falling or tumbling movement down chutes or'- i directly into the receiver; l

i 46 to slide rods'47, onlyV one of which is illustrated,` Each slide rod 47 is connected to a common shaft 48 through an arm 49 of a bell crank 50. "An arm l51 of the bell crank is connected through'k a link 52 to a crank arm54. The crankfarm 54 is driven -by a Worm-5,5 meshing with teethy on the` periphery offa gear 56 which alsof constitutes the crank arm'.` The worin54is` driven bya motor` 57 l Y Y As the circuit ofthe motor 57 may be sepa-v The vspout 41a is disposed substantiallyabove ,thel wall 40 atv one ,side of the cradle. The plane defined by the end of thespout is at an angle to the plane of thewall 40. This ilo rately controlled, it is possible to energizel the motor 57 at any desired position of the spout 41a. Upon energization of the motor the shaft 48 is rotated to slide all of the links 47 connected thereto longitudinally of the hopper for opening and closing the gates 44.

A rotative movement is given to the cradle 2 by drums 58 mounted on the structure 28. Preferably a drum 58 is mounted on the structure 28 substantially opposite each end of the cradle. It is to be understood that the number of drumsV 58 may be varied in accordance with the size of the cradle.

Each drum 58 is connected by a cable 59 passing through a guideway 60 at the bottom of the cradle to -a turnbuckle 6l connected to arpost 62 at the inner side ofthe frame of the cradle. As the drums are wound up, the tension in the cables 59 causes the cradle to turn about the pins 5 until the cable is substantially straightened out, as is shown in Figure 3. During this movement, the car clamps l5 are drawn down against the car l0 to prevent the car from moving inside the cradle. A counterweight 62 is connected at each end of the cradle for returning the cradle, to its upright position when the tension on the cables 59 is released. The counterweights 62 are connected by cables 64 eX-V tending over pulleys 65 to pins 66 positioned near the outer and upper 'end of each guideway 60. y

While I have illustrated and described the present preferred form of my invention, it

over said pulley wherebyk as the cradle is rotated about said support'the distance bei tween the pulley vand lever is shortened for permitting the car clamp to be moved into engagement with the car contained in,v said cradle, and means for moving said car clamps independently of said lever.

3. In a car dumper, arfraine," a tiltable cradle pivoted thereto, a vertically reciprocable clamp carried by the cradlel for holding a car thereon, a lever connected to'said clampr for actuating it, said lever being pivoted to said frame eccentric with respect kto the cradle pivot, so that the free end of the lever is engagedby said cradle during a portion of its travel to release said clamp. ,Y

4. In a car dumper, a supporting frame, a v

tiltable cradle pivoted therein, lsaid cradle having car clamps thereon, means for rendering said clamps effective when said cradle is tilted, and a lever pivoted to said frame eccentric with respect to said cradle pivots so i `as to be engaged by the cradle when lowered, j

and means connecting 4said lever to said Vclamps for raising the latter.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. 1

MIL() SHUTT.

is to be understood that it may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims: y

I claim as my invention:

l. A car dumper comprising a car cradle, pivotal supporting means for the car cradle mounted at one side thereof, a car clamp within said cradle, and means for controlling said clamp, said controlling Vmeans comprising an arm pivotally Amounted below Said pivotal support and engaging a surfaceof said cradle, a pulley, and a cable extending over the pulley connected to said arm and engaging the car clamp whereby as said cradle is rotated about said support, the`distance between the center of said pulley and the free end of said arm is shortened for permitting the application of the clamp to a car and when the cradle returns to its initial position said arm is engaged by said cradle for increasing the distance from the end ofarm to the fpulley and raising the clamp.

2. A car dumper comprising a car cradle, a Vcar clamp mounted for sliding movement in said car cradle, a pulley mounted in said car cradle at an upper edge thereof, a pivotal support for said cradle disposed along one side of said cradle near said pulley, a lever pivoted below said pivotal support and normally engaging the side of said cradle and a cable connecting said lever and car clamp 

